Museum of Free Derry reopens in the Bogside

The main signature project of the Bloody Sunday Trust remains the Museum of Free Derry. The Museum of Free Derry opened in 2007 in order to tell the story of what happened in the city during the period 1968 – 1972, popularly known as ‘Free Derry’, and including the civil rights era, Battle of the Bogside, Internment, Bloody Sunday and Operation Motorman.

The civil rights movement in Ireland has its deepest roots in Derry. It was here on 5 October 1968 that the issue of civil rights in the north first came to the attention of the world when the police attacked a peaceful demonstration in Duke Street. It was here that the first no go area was declared in January 1969, when the defiant slogan ‘You Are Now Entering Free Derry’ appeared on a gable wall in the Bogside.

A year after Bloody Sunday saw the first commemoration march and rally held in Derry, organised by the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association. These annual marches were to continue for decades in pursuit of truth and justice.

The Bloody Sunday Trust's vision is to promote human rights, conflict transformation and understanding, and over the years we have organised and supported many memorable events highlighting these very subjects.